News & Events

By Mac Smith, Director of Marketing

Why do clients of staffing firms never think that those firms can, and will, do executive searches? Does it have something to do with organizational hierarchy? Maybe it is just plain snobbery as in, “C-suite executives are not staff.”

After all, executives have offices and staff have cubicles. The same people that find you candidates for the cubicles don’t have the same skills to find candidates for the offices. Right? Maybe this lack of belief in the staffing firm to do executive search is the fault of the staffing firms.

“Hello. What does your company do?”

“Hi. We are a staffing firm that specializes in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire placement services. Oh, and we also do executive search.”

No! No you don’t. Executive search is direct-hire placement!

Yes. You read it right. Executive search is direct-hire placement. Is executive search so very special it needs its own firms and approaches? I don’t believe so and this sets me apart from some at our firm.

We do it all; direct hire, temporary assignment, temp-to-hire and executive search. The fact that we are a full service firm continues to have issues with our company branding.

I pull my hair out when a client says, “You do all our temps. I did not even think of asking you about completing our search for a CFO.”

Really? Did we do something wrong? We tell you four times a year EVERYTHING we do. Our client relationships continue to convince me that organizations believe: Staffing ? Executive Search. I think the reason they think this is because they think hiring an executive is harder and more important than hiring a mid or entry-level employee.

But we are all HR professionals. We know that the executive wing really carries only slightly more weight in the performance of the organization’s mission, as does the rest of the staff. It is also not harder to hire an executive. It just takes longer because their relative depth of experience requires additional review time than that of an entry-level employee.

The main reason it is treated with such special gloves is because of the cost. The twenty percent fee for hiring an IT manager is not has much as hiring a CEO of a $500 million nonprofit. Everyone understands that part. Does the high cost mean it needs special gloves used by an (wait for it) EXECUTIVE search firm?

Think about it. When the CEO announces retirement what do organizations do? Do they call Dawn, the lady that has filled dozens of temp jobs for them over the past ten years and direct-hires at the mid-management level including that great executive assistant that everyone loves? Do they consult the staffing firm that has provided temps for the front desk after a call at 9:00 P.M. the night before? You know the firm that knows their organization inside and out. The firm that understands their culture and the personality needed to successfully work there.

No. They do not. They can’t do that. This is an EXECUTIVE SEARCH! This person is getting a corner office and car allowance for crying-out-loud.

But wait. What about Dawn? The lady from the staffing firm that has done so well providing solid temporary and full time staff for the organization. She understands the culture of the organization so well that they don’t even really look at the resumes any more. They just send her the job description and a good candidate appears, does the job, supports the mission and gets paid. They even hired some temps full-time because they were so good. Can her firm complete the EXECUTIVE search?

I bet they can.

GRM teams with NPSS to find the right hire

Washington, DC – May 2010 – Nonprofit Staffing Solutions has successfully placed Delavago Scruggs as business manager/vice president of operations for Gospel Rescue Ministries (GRM).

“We selected Delavago Scruggs because we believe that he will bring strong leadership to GRM for capacity building in the areas of financial management and oversight, jobs, social businesses, and recovery services for our clients,” said Pastor Ellis Hodges, director of development & community outreach for GRM. “He represents a key link for our leadership group as GRM expands to the international level.”

A dedicated and tenacious manager, Scruggs brings to GRM more than ten years of nonprofit organizational, technical, administrative and leadership expertise.

“After an extensive month-long search we were delighted to recommend Mr. Scruggs to Gospel Rescue Ministries as the leading candidate for this dynamic opportunity. We strongly believe Mr. Scruggs shares the same desires to provide life transforming services to those suffering from addiction and homelessness that are at the heart of Gospel Rescue Ministries’ mission,” stated Patty Hampton, managing director, staffing services/executive search consultant of Nonprofit Staffing Solutions.

Scruggs holds a Masters in Public Administration from Oral Roberts University and a B.A. in Public Communications from American University. In the past he has worked for organizations such as the Center of Hope Community Development Center in Washington, D.C. and Associated Black Charities in Baltimore, MD.

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About Nonprofit Staffing Solutions

Nonprofit Staffing Solutions (NPSS) focuses exclusively on matching passionate, mission-driven professionals with nonprofit organizations across the nation. From administrative assistants to executive directors, NPSS provides smart staffing solutions for nonprofit temporary, contract and direct hiring needs. With more than 25 years of combined experience in nonprofit HR management, NPSS understands the unique challenges associated with staffing in the nonprofit sector.

For more information on Nonprofit Staffing Solutions’ services, please contact (202) 785.2060 or visit www.nonprofitstaffingsolutions.com.

About Gospel Rescue Ministries

Gospel Rescue Ministries strives to be a shelter in the storm of substance abuse, hunger, and homelessness. As a non-denominational Christian social service agency, GRM exposes hurting men and women to God’s healing love through programs that focus on transforming lives from the inside out. GRM has provided hope, help, and healing to men and women in a variety of ways, from sheltering the homeless and feeding the hungry, to educating men and women, healing them from addictions, and providing them with the vocational skills and spiritual strength to change their lives.

For more information on Gospel Rescue Ministries, please contact (202) 842.1731 or visit www.grm.org.

By Patty Hampton, CSP, managing director

This past weekend, the story I shared last week did go south. Many of you probably guessed by now that my friend did not run a background investigation on their CFO. I knew the rest of my friend’s story was headed to a point of no return, and I was right. Let me give you the short version.

The CFO in the story was hired three years ago with no background investigation conducted. Little by little purchase orders and payments approved by the CFO were beginning to look suspicious. During a board meeting, a member quietly asked my friend why the CFO approved payments to vendors for items divisions never received. The board member also indicated that the vendors on the finance report did not look familiar and purchases were never approved through the normal processes.

My friend began an internal investigation and discovered that the CFO had set up bogus vendors and dummy organizations and paid them thousands of dollars for goods and services that never materialized. Needless-to-say, my friend ended up calling the organization’s attorney and filing a police report which led to a more thorough investigation. The CFO along with his cohorts were questioned and eventually confessed to embezzlement!

I told my friend he could have avoided this poor hiring decision even if it was initiated by the CEO. As HR professionals we have a responsibility and a commitment to help our organizations avoid poor hiring decisions that could end up being costly mistakes.

So the next time your CEO hands you a resume make sure your recruitment practices include these top five procedures:

1. Call the applicant and schedule an in-person interview.
2. Have the applicant complete an application of employment.
3. Secure a release from the applicant and run a background investigation.
4. Conduct reference and education verifications.
5. Note and share your flags of concern to hiring managers (including the CEO).

This morning, I asked my friend what he learned from the incident so I could share more with you, and he replied, “No organization has a magic wand when it comes to hiring. I’m sure if you look at your own organization you’d find a few hiring decisions you wish you could take back. We had been looking for the right person for some time and I think this was nothing more than a desperate hiring move.”

My friend sounded embarrassed about how this entire ordeal unfolded. The good news is that the CFO was terminated for gross misconduct and warrants have been issued for several arrests.